How can they possibly charge $130-$150 for a house

Willard

As long as people buy the high priced houses, they will continue to sell them:) It does not bother me-I don't buy them, but I am happy the money others spend will probably go to supporting the game:)

Puking_Panda

ESO basically just sells a bunch of cosmetics through the Crown Store but not really any usable items that could put you at a advantage over other players which is pretty much alright in my book. You can't even sell the Motifs for example. People can buy whatever Crown Store stuff they want with real money and there's really no reason to care so long as it doesn't negatively impact other players.

I do think however that houses should have more functionality besides crafting stuff. Things such as wells should for example periodically give you Water Bases for alchemy, beds should give you an EXP boost for sleeping in them with the amount of XP depending on the quality of your bed, different altars should give you like an hour long boost or something for praying at them similiar to Skyrim/Oblivion altars, etc. Houses feel so useless now as with them being mostly just gross displays of wealth, which is fine but shouldn't be everything there is to it.

DoctorESO

BretonMage wrote: »

Gargath wrote: »

No idea why so much noise about this. If you can't afford you don't buy. Like in real life. I'd like to buy a porsche but I'm not that rich. I won't start crying or go start riots, otherwise I'll go buy Hyundai and be happy .

In real life, we have a large range of alternatives. If I can't afford a mansion, I have hundreds of smaller houses to be able to choose from. There is no small house choice in Alinor, or any of the biggest cities in the game, which makes it inconvenient (and quite unrealistic, really) for the majority of us.

To be fair, I guess we can draw a comparison to housing costs in big cities in real life - it's expensive. But at least there are the inn room options in cities like Alinor. Those are very inexpensive, although they are also very small (just like in big cities in real lfie).

DoctorESO

Puking_Panda wrote: »

ESO basically just sells a bunch of cosmetics through the Crown Store but not really any usable items that could put you at a advantage over other players which is pretty much alright in my book. You can't even sell the Motifs for example. People can buy whatever Crown Store stuff they want with real money and there's really no reason to care so long as it doesn't negatively impact other players.

I do think however that houses should have more functionality besides crafting stuff. Things such as wells should for example periodically give you Water Bases for alchemy, beds should give you an EXP boost for sleeping in them with the amount of XP depending on the quality of your bed, different altars should give you like an hour long boost or something for praying at them similiar to Skyrim/Oblivion altars, etc. Houses feel so useless now as with them being mostly just gross displays of wealth, which is fine but shouldn't be everything there is to it.

I like these ideas. At least allow us to have once per day nodes like GW2.

BretonMage

DoctorESO wrote: »

To be fair, I guess we can draw a comparison to housing costs in big cities in real life - it's expensive. But at least there are the inn room options in cities like Alinor. Those are very inexpensive, although they are also very small (just like in big cities in real lfie).

Perhaps, and I appreciate having the small inn rooms as an alternative. However my point was that in real life, we would have a real choice: mansions, apartments as well as small houses.

monktoasty

I don't get it either and people cried about EA? This is horriblessed pricing that only rich can afford thanks zos for not car8ng about your customers at all.

Hallothiel

I bought this by budgeting, saving crowns from eso+, buying crowns in sales etc so in the end did not cost me full price. Not an impulse buy. (and got unfurnished). Thoroughly checked out a guildmate's one to see if could go / do what I wanted first.
Am now saving for the grotto as have always wanted a ship. But will check out first & see if can access where I want etc.

Can resist impulse buys like these short term offers - have not bought any other notable houses (except DB cave) before as did not appeal.

So not all of us are whales.

(And of course I'd like it to be cheaper - who wouldn't?!)

badmojo

Morgha_Kul wrote: »

Minimum wage in this part of Canada is $14, but I get your point. The thing is, if I spent all the money I earned for 2 days on something like this, I will be very hungry by the end of those two days, because MOST of the money I made in those 2 days would normally go to things like food, rent, insurance, etc. LIVING expenses. For the price of one of these big houses in the game, I could feed myself for a MONTH.

To me, that seems rather ridiculous, and I'm not even considering how little value the houses have.

When I played Galaxies, the housing was FUN. I spent more time on housing my characters than I did doing ANYTHING else. The reason was that I could go out into the world and drop a house anywhere I liked. I would spend HOURS driving around a planet looking for a great location for my house.

What made a location great? Several things.
First, it had to have a spectacular view. MOST of the houses in this game have next to no view, because there's gigantic walls blocking line of sight to the world beyond.
Second, it had to be somewhere at least on the way to someplace populated, so I could watch as people went by while sitting on my balcony. Here, there IS no world beyond the gateway, no other people at all, because the house is its own self contained little world... empty of anyone else.
Third, it needed to be on a world where trade took place, because my character was a merchant, and I had vendors in my house. Here, no one is even ABLE to enter my house, unless they're on my friends list or in a guild I'm in... and then ONLY if I'm online. Likewise, I can't go into anyone else's house.
Fourth, it needed to be a populated planet, so I could sit on my balcony and chat in world chat. Here, that's not possible, because the houses are not part of the world, they're self contained little instances. You will be alone in your house, forever alone.

These are the kinds of things I looked for in the housing here. It's what I looked for in other games too. In LotRO, I got myself a house. It has a decent view, with a lake behind it. It's near Bree, where there's LOTS of traffic, though there's actually relatively little traffic in the instanced neighbourhood where the house stands. Trade doesn't take place in the house, but there CAN be visitors, and I CAN visit other people's houses. Finally, World chat is server-wide, no matter where you are, so I can sit on my lawn and watch to see if anyone goes by, or visit a neighbour's house to see if he's got any interesting decorations, or what have you, all while chatting with other people. LIVING in the game, so to speak.

This game provides NONE of this... and at an absurdly high price. So, I've not bought a house in the game. I have the St. Delyn's Apartment from the quest, but that's it... and unless something changes drastically, it's likely going to BE it.

And this is from a player who LOVES to become immersed in the world, who loves to become PART of the setting. It's what I love to do more than anything else. Housing could have been wonderful, but they dropped the ball badly.

I brought up the hourly wage to put the housing cost into perspective with regards to the amount of time a dedicated ESO player has invested into the game. If I typically spend over 30hours a month just doing daily crafting writs, it is pretty easy to justify spending the money I would make in half that time at my job, especially when I work that much in only a few days. If I did spend every dollar from those few days of work on an ESO house I wouldnt be hungry because the other 27 days of the month I am not buying ESO houses so food and other living expenses are covered.

If anyone needs to go hungry to afford a house in ESO, they should not be purchasing it. I buy houses because I have the disposable income to throw at it, and because I enjoy them.

Maryal

Who cares what they charge for houses - Larger houses are priced the way they are to make them a bit more 'exclusive.' If they want to make money that way, I say go for it. Those sales are probably helping to keep my subscription rate from going up.

GoldriverMtsCBE

I agree 100% the price of housing is absurd. It reminds me of my early MMORPG days playing Ultima Online. Housing was limited so gold sellers would gobble up the land with tiny houses. Then they'd tear the houses down and put the largest house on the plot (a keep or castle) and sell it on their website for $100+ dollars.

Fast forward twenty years later and we have ZeniMax doing it too. One digital castle $100+ dollars. Instead now it's "legit" because it's not gold sellers doing it, it's the publisher doing it. I know that some of the supporters would argue "just don't buy it" but that's rubbish in my opinion. In Elder Scrolls V I could have a castle like home for the cost of admission $60, plus it came with a game. In the MMORPG industry many housing systems don't require tons of real world cash to buy into and they offer the houses for either fair prices or in-game currency at a rate that is do-able.

Honestly I'd totally drop $20 - $30 on a castle sized house but not $100 or more.

Jhalin

When I see a new house on the pts I start saving a little money with each paycheck, so that when I see it in the crown showcase I can buy a big crown pack and have all I need for it.

It’s not “a ton of disposable income” it’s essentially $20 every two weeks from announcement to release

Naughty_Ryder

Surely ZOS would earn more money if they sold 300,000 players that house for $20-50 a piece, than 3,000 players the same house for $140-$150? Quantity people!

LiquidDemonFire

Anotherone773 wrote: »

I wouldnt pay half that for any house i dont care what size it is. Its just pixels and i dont even own them. I dont get to keep them if they shut the server down.

The same can be said for the main game.
Not to mention that you rarely own any digital games these days. Most of the times you're just buying access to the games which the devs can revoke as they see fit, it's often cleverly hidden deep in the tos.

Countdownical

Oh plz, I'm a student that is fighting to afford food and living, I don't get more than 600 euro/month that is gonna pay for everything during a *** month, and where the rent takes half of it - and yet somehow I have 4 Notable and 6 Classic houses. All purchased with crowns, not gold. I also have ESO+, all expansions and have 59 mounts & 72 non-combat pets

Yes, they are expensive - I agree, buut you can easily afford it if you make priorities for it. I keep track of the news feed, so i know when a limited house or other intresting thing is upcoming, and can plan for it. I only buy clothes when I need it, and I plan my food buget, not a lot of my food goes to the trash can. And I don't spend lots of cash on bar rounds etc.

If you check any clothing store, you will see that some stuff are high priced AF and some stuff are actually affordable. Will I complain about the 80 $ shirt, when I can get one for 10 $, from the same store. Or will I save up and maybe buy something that is actually worth the money? Like a couple of jeans, bc i ripped my current ones.

I prioritize gaming, because i suffer from depression and gaming is my escape from reality. I feel good here. So i spend most of my money here. If you don't prioritize gaming, then spend your money on something else. Zos is not forcing you.

Summary: You can easily afford this, if you plan your budget. Yes, sacrifices are essential, but that comes with being an adult. There will always be stuff that are expensive, and to call a company greedy is wierd. Yes, they may price it high, but you are never forced to buy it

Pino

Deleted

wishlist14

Did the palace really cost that much? My husband is in big trouble !!!!

Nephthys

It all depends upon how much pleasure you get from owning a particular item. I don't drink, smoke, gamble or run around with strange men, so all the money I save from not partaking of those activities, I can spend on in-game items with impunity.

Asardes

Well my only objection is that housing is not giftable via the crown store. I mean I don't know why ZoS excluded them from that system, since people will still buy, they will still get the money.

sudaki_eso

We have a sayin' over here which translates to: There’s a sucker born every minute... Thats why

DaveMoeDee

Nephthys wrote: »

It all depends upon how much pleasure you get from owning a particular item. I don't drink, smoke, gamble or run around with strange men, so all the money I save from not partaking of those activities, I can spend on in-game items with impunity.

I also don't murder, so the money I save from not having to pay bail can be given to ZOS with impunity.

It doesn't matter what you don't do. Spend what you want to spend. So long as we are saving for a rainy day and for retirement and aren't living paycheck to paycheck, I don't see a problem with spending money on gaming frills.

Then there are the people who are upset an item isn't going to still be available when they get their paycheck. If you can't afford it the day before you get paid, you probably should buy it when you get paid.

slicksteezin

Setting aside the outrageous price, the fact that we only get a max limit of 500 furnishing spaces with complete absolute disregard for the housing community who've been voicing this time and time again... Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather line my toilet paper roll with a nice crisp $100 bill than support ZoS housing at this point.

Alucardo

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

Marginis wrote: »

ZOS likes money. I thought everyone knew?

doesn't everyone?

It's disgusting. I hate it. That's why I never have any... yeah, that's why.

redlink1979

Of course there are people who buy this.
Across all the games, MMO or not, people with money buy things if they do like them.
You mustn't forget that you might call it pricey (if your income isn't high) but for another person it can be seen as not much.

buttaface

Didn't read whole thread. Will bet 30 years of career experience that the ZOS Crown Store misprices its wares, almost all to the high side, based on what I've seen and the very few things I've ever bought from it.

For example, riding lessons are grossly over and mispriced. Speed, stamina and storage should be priced in that order, not unipriced, and priced far lower than they are if the intent is to maximize revenues. Alternatively, they should stay priced the same and be account-wide unlocks. I would have spent X$ unlocking riding on characters were they reasonably priced, yet instead spent 0$.

The trick is to get people spending small amounts regularly instead of trying to sell Lamborghinis in the Walmart parking lot. Just another way one can see how badly online games are managed from the business side. Without the strength of IP ESO has, it would be long defunct.

wishlist14

So often i hear them talking about skoomah...on and on they are obsessed and will pay any price for it but then judge those of us that abstain from such pleasures so that we can luxuriate in our palaces ? It is all relative 😆

MehrunesFlagon

karekiz wrote: »

Not only charge you that much.

Then they tell you because you don't sub you can only use about 1/2 that house.

Even if you sub you probably won't be able to decorate half of it. This game needs to make it decorate at your Own risk instead of making it idiot proof.Although that is an entirely different topic.

MehrunesFlagon

Rouven wrote: »

A picture painting of Picasso recently sold for 115 million dollars. Obviously that is also a form of investment ...

It's all relative. I'm not paying those prices though. Out of principle and the wrath of my better half.

Buying a house in this game and buying a Picasso are two different things.Do you see the house in eso making you money in your future,the Picasso unlike the house will be worth more.

Morgha_Kul

buttaface wrote: »

Didn't read whole thread. Will bet 30 years of career experience that the ZOS Crown Store misprices its wares, almost all to the high side, based on what I've seen and the very few things I've ever bought from it.

For example, riding lessons are grossly over and mispriced. Speed, stamina and storage should be priced in that order, not unipriced, and priced far lower than they are if the intent is to maximize revenues. Alternatively, they should stay priced the same and be account-wide unlocks. I would have spent X$ unlocking riding on characters were they reasonably priced, yet instead spent 0$.

The trick is to get people spending small amounts regularly instead of trying to sell Lamborghinis in the Walmart parking lot. Just another way one can see how badly online games are managed from the business side. Without the strength of IP ESO has, it would be long defunct.

I've said this before, it's quantity you want. I work in a retail chain with two stores, one is high end, expensive and elite. The other (where I work) is lower end, cheaper and "normal." My store regularly does better business, because we have more traffic. Oh, the other store does more per sale, but they have fewer sales.

It's tried and true, and they've been told (I know, I'm one of those that told them). Makes no difference to them.

Tigerseye

MehrunesFlagon wrote: »

karekiz wrote: »

Not only charge you that much.

Then they tell you because you don't sub you can only use about 1/2 that house.

Even if you sub you probably won't be able to decorate half of it. This game needs to make it decorate at your Own risk instead of making it idiot proof.Although that is an entirely different topic.

Yeah, I agree, they should.

You can kind of 3/4 decorate it, actually, but it feels kind of sparse, assuming you light it properly.

Even if it just had another 50/100 slots it would help.